Good Morning from Patagonia and All Things Desolate Landscape

I checked into the America del Sur Hostel here in Calafate last night and was greeted very warmly by the staff. So warmly that when I walked in, bedraggled and spent after a full day of travelling, Marcos and David (the two desk guys) opened there arms as I walked through the door and shouted, "Eh-Satch. Hola!" It was heart warming and certainly a unique entrance. I asked Marcos how he knew I was "Eh-Satch" and his reply was "American name, American face." Great.

So I settled down in my room, a sparse one bed living space with a private bath and toilet, showered and got some dinner here in the hostel. They have a nightly barbecue with a terrific salad bar and gaucho meat (basically super-salted chicken or beef that is the epitome of tender and juicy). Apparently preparing it is quite easy and the difference lies not in the meat that is used but the barbecue which is unique to Argentina. It was phenomenal and I want to eat like that in New York every day. Chickens...run in fear!

I started chatting with a Sveeeedish couple during dinner who are 7 months into a 10-month world tour. They´ve done Asia, Australia, Europe and South America and when I asked them what the highlight has been so far they told me that they spent a month in the Bolivian Amazon teaching village kids English. In return for their services, they were required to pick their own rice and lentils for their food. It instantly reminded me of a kibbutz in Israel and they agreed, saying that the experience was very similar.

The hostel that I´m in right now differs greatly from the one I was at in Buenos Aires. First off the average age her is much higher. I expect that´s because it requires a few more pesos to make his trip which would prevent most of the people in Hostel Estoril from even considering this trip. The other reason is that El Calafate has seen a major boom in tourism over the past 5 years and a lot of families who may normally stay in more posh quarters are relegated to biding their time in a hostel. But make no mistake, while rustic this place is well run, clean and extremely fun to be at. It was ranked the Number 3 hostel in all of South America in 2006 and when it dies, it will acheive complete and total consciousness, so it´s got that going for it, which is nice.

I woke up this morning at 7am thinking that I would have some time to get the day started, have a coffee, read some information about this place. I went to the front desk and spoke to the woman there who started franticaly telling me that my bus would be here any minute to take me to the glacier. I had no idea what she was talking about as I hadn´t made a reservation for any trip to the glacier yet. I ran back to my room, threw on anything I could find and raced out to the waiting area. Sitting there for 20 minutes I decided to ask where this reservation came from when Justina realized that it wasn´t my room that had the bus trip at 7 but the room next to me. Sweet. All that hustle and bustle was for nothing but at least it gave me a chance to set up the tours that I´ll be doing for the 3 days that I´m here. So here´s what I´ve got, and if jealousy sets in, just remember that anyone else reading this will be feeling the same way you are.

Today I head out at 9:30 for a horse back riding trip that takes you around Lago Argentino. It´s supposed to give you magnificent views of the Perito Moreno glacier and the surrounding mountains. You get lunch and about 4 hours of riding before you´re taken back to the hostel.

Thursday I hop on a boat which takes you on the lake. It starts by putting you less than 200 yards away from Perito Moreno and then makes it´s way around to the Upsala glacier which is even bigger and more striking.

The final day is the true cherry on the top of this whole trip: Big Ice Minitrekking. A trip back to Perito Moreno, you and 14 other people get a brief intorduction to ice hiking when you are then given crampons (spikes that attach to the bottom of your shoes) where you hike on the actual glacier for 7 miles. It requires you to be in good shape but I don´t think I´ll have a problem, but if I do, dying on a glacier would certainly be a way to go.

So there you have it. Like I said yesterday, there´s only one computer in the hostel so I´ll see what I can do in terms of getting some updates out there. The hostel does have free WiFi so perhaps I can strike a deal with one of the Brits here who is always on his iMac.

Todo Mundo!
Eh-Satch